LAKE GEORGE — The recently enacted federal reconciliation bill pushed through a Republican-led Congress will have a devastating impact to state and local governments, families who rely on services and the workers who administer those services.
CSEA member Michael Biele, a senior investigator at Warren County Department of Social Services (DSS), likens the economic fallout to a giant boulder landing in a small pond.
“There will be a ripple effect,” said Biele.
Biele has keen insight into politics. He started our union’s Warren County Local’s Political Action Committee to bring relevance and influence to local elections and he serves as a CSEA federal political action liaison (PAL).
Biele describes Warren County as middle-class, predominantly rural with urban and suburban pockets. The county lies in New York’s 21st Congressional District represented by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik.
While the county’s finances are currently sound, no county will be able to sustain the financial tsunami coming from Washington. Biele noted that federal aid helps fund county worker salaries. When that money is cut, the state and local governments will be faced with difficult choices to balance the budget.
“It won’t be easy,” said Biele, who points to a projected $3 billion deficit in next year’s state budget. “Think of it from the counties’ point of view. While the feds can run huge deficits, counties can’t do that. We have to balance our budget, and we have a cap on property tax increases. There won’t be many options.”
Biele points to two programs, the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) and child care subsidies, as examples of what he terms “a ripple effect.”
HEAP provides assistance to low-income families for home heating and cooling bills.
“We have a lot of homes using oil heat in rural areas,” said Biele. “There’s an enormous amount of people relying on the program.”
In Warren County DSS, five positions oversee the HEAP program, including eligibility determinations. The federal budget eliminates the federal HEAP reimbursement states rely on with minor exceptions for the elderly and those with disabilities.
In 2024, New York’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) allocation totaled nearly $400 million for 1.8 million residents.
“If HEAP goes away, that’s five jobs that could go away, too,” said Biele.
Child care subsidies are another target for reduction. Biele notes the income requirements are higher than other safety-net programs like HEAP, so more families qualify.
“More than half the families in Warren County qualify for these subsidies,” said Biele. “These cuts will harm the people who need it the most.”
While Biele firmly believes in the power of political action, he is aware that the ripple heading toward his co-workers and his neighbors will happen regardless of how they voted.
“This is not a political issue, it’s a math issue,” said Biele.
— Therese Assalian